Chuck vs A Rock and a Hard Place
by sdchuckfan
Summary: Continues the story left off from Chuck vs. The Cardboard Box. Chuck decides to walk down memory lane and attend a seminar by his old Stanford professor, Fleming. Little did he know that wasn't the only person from his past he'll meet.
1. Chapter 1: Decisions, Decisions

_A/N: I don't own Chuck. This continues in the same Chuck-verse as Chuck vs. The Cardboard Box and the others in the series._

Chuck walked through the courtyard in front of the apartment he and Sarah lived in. It's been several months since they started living together and now have settled into a nice groove. Casey was still the same as always; he still lived near Ellie and Devon just in case anything leaked out about Chuck being the intersect, he would be there to protect them. Missions, as always, popped up unexpectedly but both found that the craziness of the espionage world much easier to handle knowing they have each other to come home to at the end of the day. As he was asked by Beckman and Graham, Sarah brought Chuck to a secret CIA facility in Long Beach in order to have the intersect updated regularly. Sarah wasn't there when Chuck first uploaded the intersect and was shocked to see the after effects after the first update. Chuck always waved her off and told her not to worry.

As for outside of the espionage world, Chuck and Sarah couldn't be happier. Sarah never had a semi-normal life and found it all exciting since it was the first time for her. For Chuck it was equally exciting since he was now independent, well sort of if you forget that the CIA was paying for the place and all the bills. It was agreed upon that cooking duties would be evenly split between both of them, much to Chuck's dismay early on. At the start of the deal Sarah had yet to take Ellie up on the offer for cooking lessons which made for some interesting meals at dinner. Combine that with the fact that Chuck was still learning hand to hand combat and was no where near Sarah's level, he ended up being forced to eat a lot of food that shouldn't be eaten by humans. Or animals for that matter.

Luckily Sarah did start taking lessons from Ellie and now was at the point where Chuck could eat in relative peace of mind knowing that he wasn't going to die. One thing that helped him through the torture was seeing how close Sarah and Ellie were now; they were best friends and neither one could go through a whole day without a phone call from the other. Chuck made the unfortunate choice one night to comment that maybe Ellie should marry Sarah instead of Devon. Of course Devon had a laugh but the daggers being shot at him by his girlfriend and sister were more than he could handle.

Despite being so close Sarah wasn't able to share much of her past with Ellie but instead of outright lying about it, she always steered their conversations elsewhere. Ellie sensed this early on and never asked unless Sarah was the one who brought it up. She knew that Sarah was a shy, secretive type of person and never pushed her beyond what was comfortable. But despite that, both women did truly consider the other their best friend and maybe their sister.

As for Chuck, he had more drastic changes in his life to deal with. Since having his named cleared in Stanford and afforded the opportunity to complete his electrical engineering degree, Chuck had used his summer to complete the general education courses that he had left to finish. He had two more classes for his major to go and then he'd have his degree by December. This morning as he walked into his class he saw a poster on the bulletin board announcing a special seminar called Psychology in Symbolism by Professor Fleming, the same professor who tried to recruit him for the CIA and aided Bryce in having him kicked out of Stanford. Chuck smiled and thought that it might be something to look into.

* * *

As Chuck stepped up to his front door, he could hear the sounds of giggling and two women chatting. He opened up the door to see Sarah and Ellie looking through bridal magazines on the sofa in the living room and Devon, head down sitting on a dining room chair. _Poor man. Even Casey wouldn't be able to stand up to this type of torture._

"Hello everyone" Chuck called out.

"Hey Chuck" answered Ellie.

"Chuck! My man. Great to see you!" exclaimed Devon.

Chuck laughed as he saw the desperation in his eyes. "You too Devon."

"Hey there sweetie" said Sarah as she gave him a kiss. "Good day at school?"

"Yeah. Strangely enough, school the second time around doesn't seem as hard" answered Chuck. "My turn for dinner right?"

"Yeah but I was thinking we all go out. Consider it your day off for good behavior."

"But you always give me something else for good behavior" whined Chuck with a sinister grin. "Things that should only be mentioned behind closed doors."

"Ewww. I don't want to ever hear anything like that coming from my baby brother" shouted Ellie.

Chuck laughed. "You mean you don't want to hear the ways I caress Sarah's body and how she always knows where to...." Suddenly a pillow came flying out and hit him in the face.

"Stop it right there. Don't break my image of you as my sweet innocent brother."

Sarah joined in the teasing and added "Innocent? He's far from innocent Ellie. I made sure of that." She gave her an evil smile. Counting on her fingers, Sarah continued "Then I made double sure, triple sure, quadruple sure..."

"Not you too." Ellie put her hands over her ears and started shaking her head. "Darn you Chuck. Now you have Sarah messing with me too!"

Sarah and Chuck laughed as they watched his sister try to forget the previous conversation. Sarah forgot what it was like to joke around with loved ones but luckily she met Chuck and he was able to help her remember that part of herself. It wasn't that she had no sense of humor; it just had to be suppressed due to the seriousness of her job. She remembered making her little sister laugh on the way home from school as well as pulling pranks on her best friend Stacy. Sarah sighed as the memories of her childhood crept to the front of her mind. She'll have to let Chuck know about her history so that he can make an honest assessment of her. _That can wait till later._

Sarah turned to Chuck, "Great to have you home."

Heading into the kitchen, Chuck replied "Always great to come home to you." He continued on, noticing Devon shadowing him in.

"Dude, I'm soo happy you're here. Do you know what I just went through?" Devon sighed.

Chuck laughed. "Hey don't complain. I had to go with Sarah and Ellie wedding dress shopping since the groom can't see the bride in it before the wedding. Do you know what it's like to see seemingly ten of the exact same dress in a row and have to give a different opinion on each one?"

Devon shook his head. "Whatever. At least there's another male presence here" stated Devon as he pulled out two beers. Handing one to Chuck, he asked "Hey I haven't asked in a while but how are things with you and Sarah? You guys have been living together for a while now."

"It's going great. At first I was a little apprehensive moving in together but now I can't remember what it was like before we lived together. We get into the occasional fight but it's nothing that we can't work out by bedtime. I must say that we couldn't be happier."

"That's great Chuck. I know I wasn't as vocal as Ellie was but I always thought you two would be great together. Something about the way you look at each other told me that you two could handle any situation." Devon paused before adding "You know that I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon..."

Chuck interrupted and finished his sentence. "I know, I know. Which means you're an expert in matters of the heart. I got that the first time." Chuck smiled as he thought of the "siutations" they had to handle: bombs, deadly gas, terrorists, gun smugglers. "Anyways, thanks Devon."

"No problem. With you finishing up your degree, I'm proud to see you're onto fulfilling your great plans."

"Well I couldn't have done it if not for a certain over-protective sister and her awesome fiancee putting up with me for 5 years."

"Seriously it was no problem. Speaking of great plans, have you thought of what happens next with Sarah?"

Chuck had a confused look on his face. "Next? What's next?"

"Chuck, Chuck. You know what's next. The big plunge? Getting fitted for the ol' ball and chain. The next right step in the relationship? Marriage dude."

Chuck went into a vicious coughing fit as the beer he was drinking went down the wrong pipe. He never thought that far ahead when it came to him and Sarah. He enjoyed being with her in the moment that he didn't think of what the future held. "Marriage? Isn't it a bit soon for that?"

"Soon? You guys have been going out for a year now and been living together for half of that. I swear you two are attached at the hip even though I said before that that's not where you should be attached." Chuckling, Devon continued "I don't think it's too soon."

With a hint of concern in his voice, Chuck asked "Really? Do you think Sarah's thought about it?"

"Chuck, look into the living room. I'm sure she's thought about it. It would be hard not to."

Chuck looked out into the other room and saw Ellie and Sarah commenting on what dress looked good and what kind of flowers they wanted in their ceremonies. "I see." Chuck's eyes focused out onto the distance.

"Hey. Don't need to sweat it bro. It's an easy decision that you probably already have made but just didn't realize it."

Chuck looked over at Devon, waiting to hear what he had to say next.

"You love Sarah right?"

Chuck nodded.

"She loves you?"

Again Chuck nodded.

"Do you see yourself with anyone else or do you see anyone else making you as happy as she has?"

"No" Chuck replied as he shook his head.

"So there you go. Not as hard as a decision as you thought huh. When you find the right girl, the decision to get married is surprisingly an easy one."

Chuck let it sink in for a moment. He knew Devon was right and that he couldn't see himself with anyone else in the future. The thought of proposing to Sarah was indeed a scary one, but a piece of advice he gave to her a while back popped into his head. Whenever Sarah was amazed at something he did for her, his reply was always "It's actually relatively easy to do for someone I love." _Maybe I should take Devon's and my own advice._

Chuck was curious about one thing. "So what about you and Ellie then? You waited for more than a year to ask her to marry you. Don't tell me that you didn't know you wanted to marry her until last year."

"No, of course not. I knew pretty early on that Ellie was the one for me."

"Then why the wait?"

"The wait was because I wanted to get to know her little brother a bit better."

Chuck looked shocked. "Me? Why?"

"If you didn't know you're a big part of Ellie's life, just as she's a big part of your's. It didn't feel right to ask her to include me in it if I didn't get to know you a bit better. So that's what I've been doing."

Chuck was obviously touched by the gesture. He had to admit that he was a bit intimidated by Devon early on since he came off as the typical jock. But getting to know him better Chuck saw that he was much more than what he portrayed. Also thinking back, Chuck realized that Devon was just as much supportive of him as Ellie was.

"I appreciate it Devon. Just to let you know, you'll be an awesome addition to the family."

Devon smiled, "Thanks bro. Hah! Now bro actually means bro."

"I guess it does, bro."

As Devon and Chuck laughed, they failed to notice two women leaning on the counter listening to the last part of their heartfelt exchange. Luckily for Chuck they came into the conversation after the mention of him proposing to Sarah.

"Are we interrupting something boys?" Ellie asked.

The men quickly jumped around and saw the smile on their significant others' faces. "Uh, no. Just shooting the breeze with Chuck" answer Devon.

"Yup, I was actually thinking of joining Devon on his weekend morning bike rides" added Chuck. He knew that Devon loved bicycling and maybe he should open himself up a bit and hang out with him a bit more.

Devon's eyes lit up. "Really? Cool. I know this 150 mile route through the city."

"Baby steps Devon. Baby Steps" replied Chuck.

Ellie laughed at the exchange. She had heard the conversation between the two and was happy that the two important men in her life were becoming so close. She was always protective of Chuck ever since they lost their parents but she started to worry about what Devon would think when she invited him to live with them after the whole debacle at Stanford. Of course Devon was all for it and told her that there's no way that they could let Chuck be alone. Seeing Devon slowly become protective of Chuck like she was just increased her love of him.

"So Chuck. Remember what I said. The decision is surprisingly easy." Devon gave him a wink.

Sarah saw a contemplative look come over Chuck's face before a smile broke out. Curious she asked "What decision is easy Chuck?"

Chuck was caught off guard and was stammering for words. "What? Oh nothing. About working out. The decision is surprisingly easy to start working out once you weigh out the benefits of being toned and lean. Heh heh." Chuck wiped his brow. "Well I better get cleaned up before we head out for dinner."

Sarah could see something was up since Chuck was so nervous. But in the interest of having a peaceful evening, she was going to let Chuck slide for now.

* * *

_A/N: Yeah I know. Things might be jumping forward quickly for Chuck and Sarah but living with your life constantly in danger tends to speed things up for you. I hope you enjoyed it and please review._


	2. Chapter 2: The Past and the Present

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had hoped to get this whole story out before the whole Jill arc on the show but it doesn't seem I'll be able to. I'm getting a work review so forgive me for much slower updates._

* * *

Chuck walked on to the UCLA campus in order to attend Professor Fleming's seminar called Psychology in Symbolism, the same subject of the class where he was accused of cheating in while at Stanford. He had to convince Sarah and Casey to let him go; they both were concerned about him going to a seminar where Fleming would be recruiting CIA agents. Chuck let them know that he just wanted to finish something that was started a long time ago and that he wouldn't even look at the images Fleming presented. Reluctantly they let him go only if he took a GPS transceiver with him just in case he got cornered and caught by enemy agents.

Casey came along with him anyways and told him that he would be waiting for him at the coffee shop a block down. Chuck was still the intersect and thus needed protection, but he was also considered a CIA agent now and should be able to protect himself as well. Thanks to the training from his team several months back and Sarah's and Casey's continued training, Chuck was on par if not better than most agents in the company today.

Chuck enjoyed seeing the course material again and surprised himself with the fact that he didn't get depressed with the idea that this exact subject was connected to his downfall at Stanford. Happy with closing that chapter in his life he picked up his notebook and headed out of the lecture hall. Unbeknownst to him a woman looked over and a smile formed on her face as she recognized him. She quickly picked up her purse and followed him out the front doors.

Chuck started heading towards the coffee shop where Casey was waiting for him but decided last minute to drop by the campus bookstore to pick up the newest novel in the Star Wars universe for Morgan. He felt bad that he and Morgan couldn't spend more time together but between him and Sarah and Morgan and Anna, there wasn't much time to do anything. But still he owed his best friend who was also there for him during the dark days after his expulsion.

Chuck walked into the campus bookstore, seemingly unaware of the woman who was following him. She watched as he browsed the new releases section, paying careful mind not to wander into his field of view. She picked up a book and just like in those cheesy spy movies, used it to block the lower half of her face as she watched her target. _Chuck. Still as handsome as ever. Still nerdy as ever as well. _The unknown watcher decided that she would tail him for a little while and learn as much about him as she could.

Pretending to read one of the books in the recommended section, Chuck weighed his options. He knew that someone was following him ever since he left the lecture hall and that they followed him into the bookstore as well. He tried to orient himself as to see his tail's face but they always seemed to move out of his peripheral vision. Chuck decided to try one last thing in order to confront his follower. He picked up his book and walked calmly over to a group of students waiting to pick up their textbooks. He pretended to accidentally drop what he was holding and proceeded to bend over to pick it up.

The woman followed him over and saw that he bent over pick up something he dropped but was surprised when he never came back up. She rushed over into the group to see if he was hiding amongst them and when she didn't see him she started to look around the store. Then she felt a presence next to her, looking down on her.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" Chuck asked. The woman turned around to face him and his face showed complete bewilderment. "Jill? What are you doing here?"

"Hey there Chuck. It's been a long time" answered Jill, Chuck's ex-girlfriend. "You're looking good."

"You still didn't answer my question. Why are you following me?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, that's all. Can't I be curious about someone I cared for and still care for?"

Chuck's eyes narrowed. "You know as well as I do Jill that you stopped caring about me the instant you left me for Bryce."

Jill looked hurt. "Can we go somewhere and sit down for a while? It would be nice if I could just talk to you for a second. Please?"

Chuck knew he should be angry and tell her off, but this was something that he needed to hear before he proceeded with his plans with Sarah. "Fine. There's a coffee shop outside."

"Thanks Chuck."

They sat down in one of the outdoor tables, drinks in hand. Chuck was anxious to get this over with and head back home to Sarah. "Say what you need to say. I'd like to finish this quickly."

Jill was stunned by his abruptness. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted after your expulsion from Stanford. Everything that happened, that whole incident with Bryce. I knew that it wasn't true that you cheated. It wasn't like you."

"So you heard that they overturned my expulsion?"

Jill nodded. "I felt relieved that you're able to finish up the degree you started so long ago. You worked hard for it and I know how much it meant to you to have Ellie see you succeed as well." Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the watch Chuck was wearing; she recognized it and was shocked to see him with one. Her voice suddenly became more serious as she asked "Where did you get that watch Chuck?"

"It was a present. Why?"

"That isn't any watch. That's one of the standard models the agency uses with a GPS locator." She looked straight into his eyes. "Are you one of us?"

Chuck's mind raced. _I told Casey that I should have a customized one. Wait a minute; did she say one of us?_ He looked up and tried to hide his emotions. "What are you talking about Jill? Agency? One of us? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jill grabbed his arm and leaned in closer. "The watch that you have right here is the CIA standard issued GPS locator watch. They use it to keep tabs on assets and agents."

"Are you certain? I'm sure the CIA shops at the mall like everyone else does." Chuck saw that his reasoning wasn't convincing Jill.

"Look Chuck, there's something I want to confess to you." She looked up and saw that she had Chuck's attention. "I'm CIA as well."

Chuck's jaw dropped. _Am I a magnet for spies or something? _Chuck's mind spun at what he just heard. His training told him that he should get out of there as quickly as possible since she could possibly be an agent with Fulcrum. One thing that stopped him was that the intersect didn't flash like it usually did whenever he saw a Fulcrum operative. Seeing that he couldn't deceive her any longer, he decided to drop the act. "Since when?"

"From before I met you. I was working with Professor Fleming to recruit students to join the agency. You were one of the more promising recruits and was slated to be part of an ultra-secret CIA program."

Chuck shook his head. He knew his abilities and what that 'ultra-secret' program would ask him to do. "So you went out with me because you wanted me to join up?"

Jill lowered her head in embarrassment. "No. At first I was ordered to be friends with you so the recruitment would be made easier. Bryce didn't know I was an agent but I gave him some hints that I wanted to meet someone like you."

Chuck remembered the first time he met Bryce in the courtyard while he was studying programming.

"So Bryce introduced us but soon after I found that I didn't want to be just friends. I decided to break protocol and ask more from you."

If Chuck's head was spinning before, it was now in a full tornado after what he just heard. Jill went against CIA policy and fell in love with a potential asset and agent. "Why are you telling me this now? Isn't there some kind of rule against telling people you're in the agency?"

"Yes but seeing that you're in the agency as well it shouldn't be a problem."

Chuck winced. So far he knew he didn't handle this whole situation well at all. But still he was curious to why she decided to confess. "To what end? Us getting back together? I'm sorry if that's what you thought would happen but I've moved on and met someone better." _Well someone else who, come to think of it, was in an eerily similar situation as yours. Is there something encoded in my DNA to go after and fall for these types of women? Seriously I'm starting to think that Lou was an agent as well._ Finally Chuck built up the nerve to ask the question haunting him for the 5 years after his ousting from Stanford. "Tell me why you broke up with me after I was expelled?"

Jill looked into his eyes and tried to arrange her thoughts into something coherent. "I couldn't stay with you even if I wanted. After the CIA found out that you cheated they quickly dumped you as a potential recruit and told me to break off all ties."

"I don't get that Jill. You broke protocol and went against orders when you went out with me but then you couldn't break them when I wasn't a potential recruit?"

"There's another reason."

"I thought there would be."

"I was fairly new to the agency as well and I wanted to make a name for myself. Being associated with Professor Fleming was great for my career and all other agents were jealous that I got that assignment my first time out. I didn't have it in me to give up my budding new career for you Chuck. So I went out with Bryce and used him to break all ties with you"

Chuck now understood. Bryce didn't steal Jill away in order to get him to break ties, Jill used him to make sure that he would stay away and not blemish her record.

Casey watched over Chuck and Jill from a safe distance away and listened in on their conversation through the microphone in the watch. He had decided to look around for Chuck after he failed to meet at the time they agreed upon and now found him talking to his ex-girlfriend. Casey shook his head at how trouble seemed to always follow Chuck around. _Sheesh Bartowski. We don't need to weed out the bad guys, all we need to do is sit you down in a Starbucks and they would be attracted to you. _He was about to break cover and head over to end the conversation when a familiar face walked into the courtyard. _Oh crap, Walker's here. This isn't going to be pretty. Sorry Bartowski, you're on your own with this one. I hope you wore your cup._

Sarah had left work early at the Wienerlicious and decided to surprise Chuck by meeting him after the seminar was done. As she walked into the courtyard she spotted Chuck talking to another woman with brunette hair. Normally Sarah was good at holding back her emotions and preventing them from overtaking her judgment but that ended when she saw her holding his arm. Now Sarah's slow stroll became a brisk walk as jealousy took over as she went over to find out who Chuck was talking to.

Chuck looked up too late to see Sarah walk up to the table. "Hey! What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you."

"Chuck. I wanted to surprise you" said Sarah with a hint of venom in her voice

"Well consider me surprised." Chuck gave a little chuckle hoping to break the tension.

Turning to look down at the brunette, Sarah asked "So who's your friend Chuck?" The instant she finished the question Sarah's face turned to one of anger as she recognized the woman with him. "You. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"Likewise." Jill looked up at the angry blonde and stood up to face her. "Small world isn't it Sarah?"

"Too small Jill."

As was his modus operandi, Chuck was completely confused. Now he found that Jill and Sarah somehow knew each other. _This can't be good for Chuck._


	3. Chapter 3: Yin and Yang

_A/N: Here we go with the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed; I know I forgot to thank you before but it's really helpful to see that people liked what they read. So enjoy my version of the love triange of Chuck/Sarah/Jill._

* * *

Chuck couldn't believe his situation: on his right was his current girlfriend Sarah and to his left was his ex-girlfriend Jill. For any man this would be a bad situation but for Chuck this was an extremely bad situation since both women were also CIA agents. He quickly stood up and placed himself in-between both of them, hoping to prevent anything bad from happening. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you two know each other?"

Neither woman broke the silence and continued the staring contest.

Seeing that nothing was happening, Chuck decided to help calm things down. "Jill, sit down please?" He watched as she reluctantly did as he asked.

Now turning to his girlfriend, "Sarah. I don't know what happened between you two or what you think was happening with Jill and I here but could you please sit down too?"

Sarah's anger slowly came down from a rolling boil to a slow simmer. "Fine Chuck. Only because you asked."

Releasing a breath of relief, Chuck sat down as well in-between the two women. "As I asked before, do you two know each other?"

After a few tense moments, Jill finally answered. "Yes Chuck. We know each other. We were paired up in the academy together."

Sarah added "The agency usually pairs up individuals with similar potential in order to have them both drive each other to become better. Jill was my partner." Sarah thought for a second. "I honestly didn't know that the Jill who crushed your heart so long ago was the same Jill I knew from back from the academy. Although looking back, I should've known that only someone like her could be so mean to such a nice guy."

Jill winced. "You should be the one to talk. I'm sure you left behind as many broken hearts as I did. They didn't call you the 'black widow' for nothing." A grin broke out on her face. "Speaking of our academy days I remember besting you in our academic courses. You always did have trouble keeping up with rest of the class."

Sarah's eye's narrowed. She knew that academics weren't her strong point but she made up for it in physical capability. "Funny, I remember things differently. I remember you constantly being annoyed that I was kicking your sorry butt in hand to hand and weapons training. The instructor had to physically intervene the first time in order to prevent me from seriously injuring you since you couldn't even defend yourself." A similar grin showed on Sarah's face.

"I admit you were better than me at that. You were always more brawn than brains." Jill looked at Sarah and then at Chuck. "I see that you're with Chuck? Figures. You were always after my scraps. First Bryce and now Chuck. Seems like you love getting my hand me downs."

Sarah grew angry at Jill's description of Chuck. "Whatever, you can keep Bryce. As for Chuck, I can't help it if you too blind and dumb to see what a great guy you let go. It's your big loss and my major gain. Chuck is the ultimate catch and I don't ever think I'll make the same mistake you made."

Jill's eyes narrowed to slits as well as she was reminded how good of a boyfriend Chuck was. One of the big regrets she had was letting him go, even if she said it was because of orders.

Chuck figured that there was a bit of competitiveness between these two women which was probably the point of pairing them up in the academy. Each one drove the other to better themselves; some through cooperation and other through competition. He suddenly broke into the conversation. "Enough of this. Do you guys want to unzip your pants right now and whip'em out? I can measure whose is bigger and we can finally end this posturing."

Casey chuckled as he heard Chuck through the earpiece. _Funny Bartowski. Not smart when both women are highly trained CIA agents. But funny nonetheless._

Both women turned to look at Chuck and gave a weird look. "Good. Now that you guys are done one upping each other, can I quickly put an end to this pleasant conversation?"

Sarah and Jill were taken aback. Jill never knew him to so forward and confident. Sarah knew this about him but it still turned her on whenever his confident side shone through.

Chuck continued. "Ok, I'll make this short and sweet. Jill, I accept your apology. I was eventually able to forgive Bryce for all he did when he was alive and eventually I can do the same for you. But for now I need to process what you just revealed. But don't expect us to be friends anytime soon."

Chuck turned to the blonde. "As for you Sarah. You should know already that you don't need to be jealous. I didn't know she was going to be here and I certainly wasn't planning this whole heartwarming scene. Besides you should know how much you mean to me, right?" Sarah's facial expression softened and a smile formed as she slowly nodded.

"Good. I don't know what it is that you have between you two and at this point it's irrelevant. We probably won't come across each other again and I sincerely hope we don't have another scene like this. Jill, it was nice to finally get clued into the whole picture and I hope you have a good life."

"Thanks Chuck and I'm sorry. Have a good life too." Jill stood up and proceeded to walk out of the courtyard.

"As for you" said Chuck as he faced Sarah. "You are coming home with me where I'll find a way for you to make it up to me for being so jealous."

"What? Me, jealous?" mocked Sarah.

"Yeah yeah whatever. Your green eyes must've scared Casey off from breaking up this get together. Speaking of which, I know you can hear me Casey. Thanks for the assist" said Chuck sarcastically. He could've sworn he heard him grunt from wherever he was hiding.

Sarah smiled in response.

"I just need to get home and try to piece together this weird life of mine." Chuck took his head in his hands. "My ex-girlfriend and my current girlfriend were rivals in the CIA. This is way too weird."

"Sorry Chuck. I should've wondered why all the files concerning your personal history were marked as classified. I thought it was because of your association with Fleming but I guess it was also because of your attempted recruitment by the CIA by Jill."

"So Jill is really your rival? I thought that it was Carina."

"No. Carina and I are best friends who just like teasing each other. She sometimes takes it too seriously though. Jill Masters was always my rival. Boba Fett to my Han Solo, if you will."

Still shaking his head, "Crazy I tell you. I live in the twilight zone."

Sarah's voice softened. "I really am sorry Chuck. Seeing Jill brought out the rivalry that I thought I put behind me already. And then when I saw that she was the one who was touching your arm, I kind of lost it for a second. I was afraid that I was losing you."

"Sarah, relax. There is absolutely nothing between Jill and me. I know you were probably worried since I pined over her for 5 years but that's done now and I moved on to someone better ok?"

Sarah smiled; Chuck always had a knack for calming her down. "Ok. Are you going to tell who the better someone is? I think I'd like hearing who it is."

"Really?" said Chuck as he turned to face her. "Ok, that someone better is Morgan. He's always had my back and is always fun to hang around."

Sarah punched him in the arm. "You better try again."

"Joking. Sarah Walker is that better someone. Much much better and a whole lot of fun to be around." Chuck laughed a bit.

Sarah tiptoed up to Chuck for a kiss. "I love you Chuck."

"I love you too Sarah." Chuck suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Ellie a while back concerning Jill and Sarah. Ellie had told him that she never felt that he and Jill were a couple, but more like buddies. But she felt something else when she saw he and Sarah together, like they were meant to be together. Now he understood what she meant; in seeing Jill again Chuck couldn't help but notice the difference in feeling when he looked at her and then when he looked at Sarah. With Jill the affection felt no different than what he felt for one of his friends, whereas with Sarah it was a more intense feeling. A feeling that he would fight for her no matter what. _Interesting_. "Let's tell Casey we're heading home."

"Sounds good to me."

As they walked through the UCLA campus, Chuck happened upon a flyer advertising a seminar by the head of Poindexter Animatronics. His eyelids flickered a bit as hundreds of images flashed in his mind, the most notable being that of Dexter Johnson and behind him a slew of computers.

Sarah noticed him flash and asked "Chuck, are you alright? What did you see?"

"Something that involves an old acquaintance of mine from Stanford. We need to talk to the brass."

* * *

Some time later Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are standing in front of the monitor with Director Graham and General Beckman looking on.

"The man Bartowski flashed on is Dexter Johnson, classmate of Bartowski, Stanford graduate, and founder and CEO of NextGen Robotics. They specialize in designing and making robots for use in the manufacturing industry. Currently they have expanded their research in robotics to include weapon systems. He is under investigation by the FBI concerning reports that he was providing technology and schematics to terror groups for the creation of next level unmanned weapon systems" stated Graham.

Casey looked confused. "Why hasn't he been brought in yet?"

"For now there has been nothing to tie him to the groups. That is where Bartowski and Walker come in."

Chuck looked up. "Just me and Sarah? What about Casey?"

"Casey has another assignment elsewhere which requires his set of expertise" answered Beckman.

"So you guys want him to blow something up?" asked Chuck.

Casey slightly nodded to show that it was along those lines.

"Luckily this opens up a spot for us to use an agent who knows the target just as well as you do Bartowski. She should be arriving shortly."

Chuck moved towards the front door as soon as he heard the first knock. "I guess this is her."

Standing behind the door was a face that Chuck and Sarah hoped not to see so soon. Jill Masters.

"Jill? You're joining us on this mission?" asked Chuck.

"I sure am" she said with a smile. "Bout time you got trained by a real agent."

Sarah crossed her arms and a look of annoyance spread on her face.

Casey on the other hand looked disappointed that he was going to miss out on all the chances to prod Sarah and Chuck about his ex-girlfriend. "Hey Chuck. How do you do it?"

Chuck looked over and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Seriously, she's your ex? She looks like an actress or something. So you end it with her and now your next girlfriend is Sarah who looks like a supermodel? You sure you're a nerd right? You didn't happen to invent a beer goggles gun did you?"

"I'm sure of the nerd part. As for my girlfriends, I guess I'm lucky?"

"I'd say so." Casey paused for a second and looked at both women who were staring each other down. He asked "So Chuck, do you know what happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force?"

Chuck turned to Casey. "No what."

"I don't know either but I have a feeling you're going to find out first hand. Luckily I'll be out of town when the black hole forms and sucks you in" Casey chuckled.

Graham proceeded with the briefing. "Agent Masters will be the third member of the team. For this mission, we will need to get in close to Johnson and hopefully get the chance to check out the mainframe at his home and work. For that reason we will need to use people who he knows. Namely both Bartowski and Masters."

They both turned to look at each other while Sarah sported a sour look on her face.

"Your cover will be boyfriend and girlfriend. Hopefully he still remembers you and lowers his guard a bit."

Chuck quickly interjected. "Boyfriend and girlfriend? Wouldn't it be easier to have Sarah or Jill just seduce the guy? There must be some other options here." Chuck was quickly trying to find a way out of being stuck with Jill. Although he made it clear to Sarah that there was nothing between them, he was still afraid that jealousy might spring its head once more.

"Normally yes but it seems that Johnson is quite immune to that sort of tactic and is instantly suspicious of any female suddenly getting close to him. It seems he is quite wary of being seduced" replied Graham.

"How paranoid of him. It's perfectly normal for an outrageously beautiful woman to want to go out with a nerd who probably spent more time with computers than with women" said Chuck sarcastically. "If I had a dime for every time a supermodel asked me out, I'd be a millionaire."

Sarah smiled at the comment since she knew she was the "outrageously beautiful woman" he was alluding to.

"I was just hoping that there was some other way that wouldn't involve breaking the team dynamic" pleaded Chuck.

"Bartowski we know of your previous relationship with Agent Masters. But I'm hoping you have learned in you time with us that sometimes agents have to endure orders that they don't particularly care for. In this instance, this is the only viable option." Beckman looked to see if he understood which he did. "Agents Bartowski and Masters will pretend to still be a couple since Stanford. Walker you'll be providing intel and surveillance from the van. Good, now get to it." The monitor flickered off.

Everybody stood in silence, going over what was just asked of them. Chuck and Jill were to pretend to be a couple and Sarah was relegated to the surveillance van to watch them. Casey sported a smile on his face knowing that Chuck would be uncomfortable for the whole mission. His only regret was that he couldn't be there to see the fireworks.

"Well I'll see you later" Casey said. "I need to get prepared for my mission. Oh yeah, a little advice for you Chuck."

Chuck looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"Pace yourself. You don't want to injure yourself trying go back and forth between both Masters and Walker. I say take a 10-15 minute break in-between and then go to the next. Oh yeah, drink lots of gatorade." Chuckling he quickly left the apartment. He could feel the hole being burned through his back by Sarah. "Have fun kids."

Jill was feeling extremely uncomfortable standing in Sarah and Chuck's residence, especially after the mission briefing. She quickly excused herself and decided to head back to her hotel.

Chuck in the meanwhile was trying to find the right words to say to Sarah that would properly convey his discontent at the current situation. But all that came out was "Well this sucks."

Sarah looked over and replied "You think?"

Chuck could see the jealous side of Sarah springing forth slightly. "Hey. Don't worry about it. I told you already that Jill and I aren't even friends. There is NO chance of anything happening."

"I know that. I'm just mad that she gets to feel what it's like to have you again despite the fact that she was so heartless towards you."

"I don't have to remind you that it's pretend. Whatever she feels from me is going to be fake. Unlike you who gets to have the real thing."

Satisfied with his response, Sarah replied "Thanks. I'll remember that whenever I'm about to throw a knife at her." Sarah looked up to see a smile on Chuck's face; she knew what he was thinking. "Yes yes I see the irony in the situation. I'm feeling what you felt whenever you had to watch me with a mark."

Chuck laughed as he nodded. "Although I think I handled it a bit better then than you are now."

"Ha ha Chuck. Let's see how you handle it when you're cut off from certain nightly privileges."

Chuck gulped and his eyes grew wide at the thought. "Well I think we don't have to go that far; I'm certainly not going to do anything to make you jealous."

"Good answer."

* * *

_A/N: How was it? Please review._


	4. Chapter 4: Blinded by Love

_A/N: Next chapter. Thanks for the reviews._

* * *

Jill stared at the men standing in front of her. Two of Dexter's goons pointed their guns at her and Sarah while Dexter and Chuck stood behind them. She couldn't understand what was happening; Chuck was not bound like they were and was acting as if he was friends with Dexter. She looked over to Sarah who looked totally confused at the current situation.

Jill was first to speak out. "Chuck, what's going on here? Why are we tied up and you aren't?"

Instead of Chuck answering, Dexter replied "Sorry Jill, Chuck and I had a long and deep talk and it seems he agreed that working with me is a lot more worthwhile than working for the CIA. It seems that he has had enough of all the lies and deception; never knowing whether a girlfriend really did like him or was just using him. We both seem to be quite angry at the government. Go figure."

Jill looked over at Chuck and saw him nodding his head in agreement. She couldn't believe what she just heard; Chuck double crossed her and Sarah and helped Dexter take them prisoner. She was so sure that Sarah and Chuck's relationship was the real deal; they seemed inseparable and totally love with each other. Now it seemed that Chuck had fooled both her and Sarah and had quickly changed sides when given a better offer. She always thought he was a trustworthy and honorable man, but it seems that that man was left behind back in Stanford and a new personality formed in his place. Jill shivered at the thought that her actions so long ago completely changed the once good man that she knew.

Jill thought back to the start of the mission almost two weeks ago, when she and Chuck started hanging out with Dexter Johnson in order to gain access to his home and his workplace computers. It had started out well, they both just "happened" to come across Dexter after finishing his seminar on the future of animatronics and how advancement within that field would also mean advancement within many other fields as well, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and weapons to name a few.

* * *

"Is that you Chuck?" shouted the little man.

"Dexter! It's been a long time."

"Yes, yes it has. I never thought I would see you on a university campus again after what happened at Stanford."

"That's history. I'm actually finishing up my electrical engineering degree this winter."

"Hey, only 6 years late. You know what they say, better late than never."

"Yup. Hey you remember my girlfriend Jill?"

Jill quickly stood up from her seat and reached out her hand. "Hello Dexter, great talk you gave today."

"Thank you. Not one of the more exciting ones but I hoped I got my point across. I also tried to keep the words simple so I wouldn't lose anyone."

It had taken all of Jill's strength to not roll her eyes at his outrageous statement. The rest of her strength went to not knocking the little man out.

"So what brings you to my seminar today Chuck? Finally want to admit that I'm better at programming than you?" asked Dexter.

"Jill and I just happened to be in the area and decided to drop in and see what a fellow Stanford student was doing. As for the second part of what you asked, I don't think I have the authority to admit that seeing that everyone from our class watched as the virus I designed infect your computer before yours even left the communication port." Chuck gave a little smirk. "But hey, that's all in the past now. You're the owner of a multi-millionaire company and here I am still finishing my degree."

Chuck and Jill went on several dates with Dexter after than initial meeting; lunches in after his meetings in LA, dinners at a fancy restaurant in San Francisco, a weekend getaway to Hawaii. Although seemingly random, each meeting inched Chuck and Jill closer to their goal of gaining access to his computer systems at home and at work. Jill and Chuck understood that Dexter was an extremely paranoid person; unable to trust his own staff with company secrets. But she knew they had something going for them; his superiority complex often trumped his paranoia. Therefore whenever he had the chance, he made sure in one way or another that Chuck knew how smart he really was.

One thing that amazed Jill was how good Chuck was at being an agent; she had thought that he wouldn't have it in him to deceive another human being but here he was pretending to be her boyfriend while trying to work his way into Dexter's home. Chuck was one of the top prospects for a CIA project in that year's crop of candidates and after talking to Fleming over the years, it seemed he was the only person suitable for the position. She never thought he would be able to handle the strains of being a field agent but that didn't stop the agency from recruiting him. But it seems now that Chuck was a lot more apt at the field type work. She wondered if it was Sarah's influence, was concern for her safety driving him to step over previous constraints and become more than what originally thought as his limits? He never had shown this much potential when she was still dating him; did she overlook it or was it because Sarah brought out the best in him?

For now Jill enjoyed the cover relationship with Chuck and thanks to the fancy locations for lunch and dinner set up by Dexter, she didn't have to face the wrath of Chuck's elder sister Ellie. Chuck had seemed equally pleased that he didn't have to break his relationship with Sarah for cover's sake. She knew that Sarah was watching and listening to them in the surveillance van where she was forced to stay. Every once and a while she would caress Chuck's hand or gently push back a lock of curly hair, knowing full well of the anger building up in her rival but still part of her wished to relive some of their happier times. For his part Chuck would glance at her, as if warning her that whatever he was doing was for the mission's sake, not her's, and that Sarah was the one with his heart now.

After a week and some days of working on Dexter, Chuck and Jill were finally able to gain access to his home after an invitation to dinner and access was gained to his workplace after Chuck had stated that he was working on a new computer game, prompting Dexter to show off as well and allow them access to the inner workings of NextGen.

After listening in and sifting through his company's computer files for the first few days, they found that Dexter's company had submitted an application to the DOD to produce the next unmanned aerial vehicle for the military. He had delivered plans for an UAV codenamed Scythe capable of reaching hypersonic speeds and operating at a height of 80,000 feet or more, meaning it could essentially reach any place in the world in the matter of a few hours. The speed, combined with an extremely small radar profile, made it virtually impossible to detect and guard against. On top of that he had designed a version designed to an attack vehicle, capable of delivering 4 smart bombs to any location. The speed of the vehicle and the altitudes it was able to achieve made it so that there was minimal risk of loss.

Dexter's hopes for a government contract were dashed when Lockheed Martin beat him to the punch and introduced a vehicle less capable than his but built for a much lower price. It seemed the DOD felt that they could lose LM's vehicle in combat and still replace it at a much lower cost than one of Dexter's. As the team listened to more of the conversations through the planted bugs, they found that not only did it not sit well with Dexter and he had sold his plans to the highest bidder. But that was not it, he was also planning some sort of attack with the Scythe to show the DOD the error in their decision. Jill and Chuck gasped as they heard his target: Stanford University.

* * *

Jill suddenly snapped back to the present, staring Chuck dead straight in the eyes. "Seriously Chuck, are you going with his plan to bomb Stanford? That was our school!"

Chuck's face suddenly turned serious. "It was your school, not mine. If you don't remember I got kicked out when our friend Bryce Larkin planted those tests under my bed. So forgive me for not having such fond memories of Stanford."

"But Chuck, they cleared you. They even went out of their way to make sure you ended up with a degree from them."

"Six years too late Jill! When it all went down, there was no inquiry, no investigation, it was straight to guilty verdict for Chuck and out I went. As far as I'm concerned, they're just covering their asses just in case I decided to sue them and stain the Stanford name."

Jill turned to Dexter, who was standing smugly by Chuck's side. "Do you really believe that the government will award you the contract just because you bombed a target on U.S. soil?"

"No I don't Jill. What I want is for the government to see what a big mistake they made in rejecting Dexter Johnson. I don't care about the money, I care about my legacy. Money will go but the name Dexter Johnson will forever be part of history."

"So that's what this is all about? Your name in history?"

"Simple isn't it?"

"You're crazy. Tell me, what did you do to Chuck? Are you coercing him into following you?"

"Chuck? No, all I did was ask if he was happy constantly being bossed around. Never knowing who his friends were and who were just using him for their own ends."

Jill winced. She knew that with recent revelations Chuck probably perceived their time together as her manipulating him into the CIA. In addition, she had told him basically told him that at the time he was less important than her job.

Dexter continued, "Seems that he agrees with me. Let's go Chuck; I do believe I need your help with some programming."

Chuck smiled. "Wow Dexter. You're actually going to trust me with your company's mainframe?"

"Well I figure you and I are made from the same cloth; both of us victims of others' deceptions."

Jill watched as Chuck and Dexter left the room followed by the two henchmen. "You've been quiet through all this. Aren't you angry at Chuck?"

Sarah finally spoke up. "Why? Should I be?"

"Hello? Did you just miss the fact that Chuck betrayed us and is going to help Dexter blow up Stanford?"

"Nope, I heard everything."

"Then why aren't you doing anything to stop Chuck?" Jill looked to the ceiling and said to herself: "This is why the training manual says to trust no one."

"And that's why the manual is wrong. I trust Chuck."

"Seriously, I think love is blinding you from seeing what's really happening."

"Sorry Jill, but love is the one thing helping me see what's real." Sarah smiled and settled into her seat.

Seeing her so relaxed made Jill even more nervous. "Crazy people I tell you."

* * *

Fifteen or so minutes later, Jill and Sarah's attention was drawn to the room next door. They heard sounds of bodies being thrown against the wall and what they thought were screams coming from a little girl. All was quiet until the door to their room opened up and a sobbing Dexter was thrown into it. Right behind him was Chuck, sporting a big smile.

"Hey guys, miss me?"

Jill's eyes were as big as saucers. "What the? You were faking it?"

Chuck walked over to Sarah and proceeded to untie her from the chair. "So did I fool you too?"

"Nope. Not for one second" said Sarah with a smile.

"Really? Apparently I convinced Jill over here."

Jill turned away from them, annoyed that she didn't see through his deception.

"I'm not Jill. Besides, Chuck Bartowski as a bad guy; my mind can barely grasp the notion."

"Hey, I can be a convincing bad guy."

"Nope, no you can't. I wouldn't love you so much if you could." Sarah gave him a big smile.

Chuck finally freed her and then went over to Jill.

"So why the deception Chuck?" asked Jill.

"Huh? Well I figured that only real way to get Dexter to trust me and let me plant a virus onto his mainframe in order to stop him was to make him believe I was just as mad at the world as he was. He was angry that the world didn't see what a true genius he was. I made him believe that I was angry that the world for pushing me aside. It made it easier for him to accept me if we both were on the same perceived page."

"Couldn't you let us in on that? Hello, you risked our lives here."

"I would never risk Sarah's life like that. I told Dexter that we could use you both for bargaining chips and that you were better to us alive. Besides if things didn't turn out as exactly as I planned, I had a back up plan ready to go."

"Which was?"

"Let's say it involved a lot more guns and a lot more blowing things up." Chuck went over to deal with the still crying Dexter. "And our sobbing friend here wouldn't have enjoyed seeing me again."

Jill turned to Sarah. "And you somehow knew all this? Why weren't you deceived?"

Sarah smugly replied "I know Chuck. I know he loves me and that he wouldn't do anything that would cause me harm. So when Dexter said that Chuck was on his side, I knew that something was up."

"So you went on faith alone? Isn't that a bit risky?"

"Not as risky as you think. It all depends who you place your faith and trust in." Sarah smiled as she looked over to Chuck who was tying Dexter up. "And like I told you before, I trust Chuck."


	5. Chapter 5: Unconditional Love

_A/N: Winding it down a bit. Enjoy._

* * *

As was the norm, both General Beckman and Director Graham gave the team high praise for a job well done. They informed both Chuck and Sarah that Jill had been assigned back to her original post with Professor Fleming at Stanford and had to therefore leave on the evening flight.

"Well, see you Chuck. Although you might think otherwise, it was really nice to see you again. I'm glad to see you're happy despite all that had happened" said Jill with a genuine smile on her face.

"Actually Jill, it was nice to see you as well. I'm glad we were able to straighten things out. Stay safe" replied Chuck.

Sarah walked over next to Jill. "Let me walk you out."

Chuck smiled as he watched both women step out into the courtyard as the door closed behind them. "Twilight zone I tell you" Chuck whispered to himself.

"You're not going to try to extract revenge for anything I did during the mission with Chuck are you?" asked Jill.

Sarah gave a sinister smile. "Not today. But I do want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Why did you leave Chuck back then at Stanford?"

Jill was surprised at Sarah's forwardness and took a minute to collect her answer. "Like I told Chuck, I couldn't risk being reassigned from my mission. It would've tarnished my career."

"That's crap Jill. I know you better than that. I was the one who was always the more career-minded, not you. So why don't you try again?"

Jill looked to the ground. She paused for a moment, trying to muster the strength to tell her the truth. "You're right, it wasn't about my career. I left Chuck because I was scared."

Sarah gave her a confused look. "Scared of what?"

"Scared of what a relationship with Chuck would ask for. My time with Chuck was the best of my life; I never met anyone like him before or since. But as we grew closer, I knew that I would have to one day come clean with him concerning the CIA and all the things I've done. I know I barely finished training before I met Chuck, but part of me was still ashamed of the missions I did complete. I couldn't bear to witness what it would do to him if he found out I was lying to him."

"I know how you feel" added Sarah sadly.

"There was also our training which taught us to trust no one, not even family. I felt that Chuck deserved more than a woman who would constantly lie to him and never fully trust him. Ellie could see right through me and knew that I wasn't giving him my all."

Sarah's eyes grew glossy and she nodded to signal she understood. Chuck's big sister seemed to have x-ray vision; able to see to the heart of a person.

"So rather than dealing with issue, I cut ties with him when I found out that he was caught cheating. I took the easy way out and let him believe that I moved on rather than dealing with the real issue." Jill barely finished before some tears started to fall. "What will you do?"

"About what?"

"Chuck knows you're an agent but does he know what you've done in past missions? Are you going to tell him?"

"He doesn't know yet and he hasn't asked. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Jill nodded, understanding that the decision would be hard for her too. "Good luck with what ever you have planned. Stay safe Sarah."

"You too Jill." Sarah watched as the brunette walked to the taxi waiting for her. She knew that Jill was right; it was going to be hard to let Chuck know what she did in her life. She let a few more tears out before wiping them away and prepared a happy face. _Would Chuck still love me?_

* * *

Sarah and Chuck faced each other in the training center. As was their bi-weekly ritual, Sarah continued training Chuck in hand to hand combat. He still had only one victory against her, but that didn't stop him from flaunting it in her face.

"This could be the day Sarah. I feel win number 2 is coming up."

Sarah smiled. "You sound sure of yourself. As I remember, the score is like 112 wins for me and 1 win for you."

Chuck flinched. "You sure do know how to hurt a guy."

"Yeah, but I'm better at making them feel good." Sarah gave him a wink.

Chuck smiled. "Ok, don't think that your whole 'removing tank top' move is going to work this time. I'm prepared for any and all possible attacks. I hope you are."

"Please Chuck, I would like to think of myself as always being prepared."

"We'll see."

With that Chuck and Sarah started sparring. It wasn't that Chuck was bad at hand to hand combat; he was actually better than most in the agency. The main problem lay in the fact that Sarah was one of the best in the agency. So despite all his training, Chuck had a long way to go before reaching her caliber. But today Chuck was inspired and knew he had to get the better of Sarah, at least for a second.

They sparred for a few moments when Sarah suddenly made a move towards him; it was then that he saw his chance. Chuck grabbed Sarah's arm and swung her around into a full nelson. She struggled against him but in terms of strength, Chuck did have the edge. But this was not Chuck's goal; risking a certain win, Chuck let go of the full nelson and took Sarah's left arm and put her into an arm bar. Sarah realized his mistake and quickly countered his hold and pinning him to the mat. She let him roll over to his back and held his arms down while straddling him.

"So much for you feeling another win. You lose" announced Sarah.

Chuck raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I won." A smile broke out on his face.

"How do you figu..." Sarah noticed a shine coming from her left hand which stopped her mid-sentence. She looked closely and saw a diamond ring on her hand. Somehow Chuck was able to place a ring on her finger without her knowing. Tears formed in her eyes as the magnitude of the moment hit her. "Are you asking me...?" Sarah let the sentence trail off.

"Of course I am." Chuck took a deep breath to keep his voice from wavering. "Sarah, will you marry me?"

Sarah couldn't believe what she heard. Never in her life did she think that anyone would say those words to her. Even as a kid when other girls were imagining their weddings and the dresses they would wear, she was always more concerned about sports and other boyish type things. Then when she grew up and joined the agency, those kinds of thoughts were forbidden since they would only distract her from the mission. Now when finally faced with the question of every woman's dream, she found herself without the right words to say.

There were of course other reasons for her hesitation: Chuck knew almost nothing about her. He made the decision of asking for her hand in marriage with no information on her history; no way to judge if she really was worthy to be his bride. She remembered what Jill admitted, that she was scared of what Chuck would think of her when he really knew the whole story.

"Chuck, you don't know anything about me." Sarah stood up and walked away from him.

Chuck followed her to the corner of the room. "I know more than I need to make this decision."

"There are things I have done and seen that I worry will change what you think of me."

"You have to trust me Sarah. I know what I'm doing and nothing from your past will change my opinion of you."

"You say that now...." said Sarah as her face dropped to the floor.

"Then finish it."

"What?"

"Finish what you had planned when you told me your real name for the first time. Remember, back when I first picked you up in the porsche? I know you wanted me to know more than what your name is; you wanted me to flash on your past."

Sarah was shocked. She didn't realize that Chuck knew her that well and was that insightful. Sarah did want Chuck to flash on her name before; she had decided then that if she were to pursue things with him that he should know all there is to know about her. Unfortunately the honorable side of Chuck prevailed and prevented her from revealing more than just her first name. She weakly muttered "Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. I'm sure that nothing I learn will change how much I love you. Go ahead."

"Chuck." Sarah took a deep breath in. "My name is Sarah Lisa Connors."

"Conn..." Before he could react to her name, a flurry of images flashed through his mind.

Sarah looked on as Chuck's face became frozen, evidence that he was flashing. She knew what he was seeing: the fact that she has two younger siblings and a mother still living in San Diego; that her father had died during sneak attack by some insurgents while on patrol in Iraq when she was a teen and that she never recovered from the loss; that the pain she felt from the death of her father spurned her to join the CIA in order to exact some revenge against the evil in the world. What scared her the most would be when Chuck saw her CIA mission files which would tell him how many times she had to kill, how many times she had to seduce a mark; the number of times that a bit of her soul was chipped away.

Sarah's heart stopped as she saw tears running down Chuck's face and she gasped when she heard him mutter "no." She then knew that the worst possible outcome had happened; Chuck was rejecting her after seeing the horrible things that she did in her life. She proceeded to walk around Chuck and escape before he finished but as she made her way around him, Chuck grabbed her wrist. Surprised, Sarah looked over and saw that he was still in the middle of the flash.

Snapping out of the trance he was in, Chuck asked "Where do you think you're going?"

Sarah started to cry. "I know what you must think of me. I wanted to leave here so you wouldn't have to go to the trouble of breaking up with me."

"Why would I do that? I would be quite the fool to let you slip through my fingers."

"I saw the tears on your face and heard you mutter 'no.' I know you must think of me as a horrible person."

"I was thinking the opposite. I was tearing up because I saw all the sacrifices you had to make in order to keep everyone safe. It just saddens me that you were asked to give up that much and without anyone ever knowing it. It makes me wonder how I got so lucky to have you in my life. Don't think I'm going to be letting you go now."

Sarah wiped away the tears and smiled. "Thank you Chuck."

Chuck raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me, you still kind of left me hanging here."

"Hmm?"

"Do you want me to ask you again?"

Sarah shook her head and gave him the biggest and brightest smile Chuck had ever seen. "Of course I'll marry you Chuck." She quickly embraced him and placed her head into his chest. "You're more than I ever thought I would deserve."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you."

Sarah never felt that complete in her life; in front of her stood a man who was willing to accept everything about her without a second thought. Someone who she could fully trust with her life and her happiness. She never thought she could find someone like him.

Sarah looked up and saw a weird smile on Chuck's face. "What? What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

After a few seconds, Chuck relented. "Ok. Sarah Connors? Really? You didn't happen to run from a murderous cyborg with a man from the future?"

"No Chuck. And yes I did watch the movie Terminator." She let out a laugh.

"Just asking."

"Well thanks to you that won't be my name anymore, will it?"

"No, no it won't Mrs. Bartowski."

Sarah looked up while still holding Chuck in her embrace. "I like the sound of that."

* * *

A/N: Review?


	6. Extra chapter 1: Things to say

_A/N: Might as well post this and let the fluffiness continue. You may or may not notice (or care) but I'm pretty much winding down this short series. I think I cover some of the main points I wanted to: Chuck and Sarah's relationship; Chuck's future as an agent, intersect, and person in general; Chuck's ability to seduce Sarah in a nightclub (ok, that wasn't a main point); Chuck and Sarah marriage. So I'm thinking I have one left for Chuck: the end of his story. Enjoy and review!_

* * *

Sarah was floating for the rest of the day after Chuck proposed to her at the training facility. Although not usually recommended for secret agents, she allowed herself a bit of leeway considering the big change coming to her life. She had never thought that her life would lead this way; she always thought that she would go out in a blaze of gunfire and explosions. Now a whole new set of paths lay before her that she had never dreamt of before and all include Chuck Bartowski.

Their next hurdle would be letting Ellie and Devon know of their plans. One thing that constantly tore at Sarah was the fact that she had to lie to Ellie, who had never shown her anything but love and friendship. She wondered if the time might be coming that she and Devon would have to be let in on Chuck's secret. How to tell her know; now that's what stumped Sarah.

Ellie and Devon sat across the table from Sarah and Chuck; as was their weekly ritual, they all got together for lunch or dinner. Ellie insisted since she never got to spend time with them alone considering her wedding was coming up real soon.

Sarah and Chuck had discussed what the best option was to let Ellie and Devon know and decided to just drop hints the whole night. Sarah would try to flash the ring around, hoping that one of them would see and ask them. But that plan seemed to be a bust; Sarah had tried everything save sticking the ring in Ellie's eye but still she didn't see it.

As a final attempt, Sarah grabbed her wine glass with her left hand and made sure the ring was prominently sticking out in plain view. As she sipped her drink, she also made extra sure that it was in Ellie's field of view. Sarah smiled as she saw that Ellie caught on and was about to say something.

"Yes yes Sarah. I see you have a ring. Good for you" said Ellie as she angrily walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah guys, thanks for totally taking the entire spotlight off our wedding. Sheesh, attention hogs" added Devon as he joined Ellie.

Chuck and Sarah were totally stunned. They didn't think that Ellie and Devon would mind that they got engaged before their wedding and they totally didn't want to take any of the spotlights away from their big day.

"We need to apologize" said Sarah.

"Thinking the same thing" replied Chuck.

Sarah and Chuck ran into the kitchen and was shocked to see both Ellie and Devon laughing.

"You guys are so cute, thinking that Devon and I were mad" snickered Ellie.

"What? You were joking?" asked Sarah.

"Of course! I'm so happy for you guys!" Ellie ran screaming and gave Sarah a big hug. "Finally I get a sister."

Sarah hugged back. "Thanks for always making me feel welcome Ellie."

Devon extended his hand to Chuck. "See? Told you it was easy."

"Yeah, easy." Chuck whimpered "I have the bruises to show for it."

Sarah looked over and smiled as she heard the last part of what Chuck said. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "If you think those bruises are bad, wait till the honeymoon." Chuck could never get enough of Sarah's evil grin.

"Eww. Did you just whisper something obscene again into Chuck's ear Sarah?" scolded Ellie.

Sarah replied "Yup. Just making sure his innocence was really gone."

Ellie rolled her eyes and led Sarah away to the couch in the living room. "Time for girl talk. You guys will have to excuse us."

As she and Ellie sat on the couch, Sarah figured that this would probably be the best time to come clean with her. Taking a deep breath to help steady her nerves, Sarah spoke first. "Ellie, there's something you need to know about me and Chuck. We haven't been entirely truthful with you and Devon."

The elder Bartowski raised her hand indicating she wanted her to stop. "Wait right there. I think I have an idea of what you're about to say."

Sarah looked up to Ellie. "Really?"

"I'm guessing this has something to do with all the cuts and bruises that both you and Chuck seem to be sporting every so often. How sometimes I've seen Chuck trying to hide his limp and how you always seem to pop up and stay over when he is injured. Also how you guys seem to need to run out and come back home at the weirdest of times. There's a whole list of things I've seen but you get my point."

Sarah looked confused. "How did you...?"

"Please Sarah. Devon and I are doctors. We're trained to be observant; if we weren't we wouldn't be able to treat our patients as well as we do. Although I don't know the specifics of what you guys are doing, I know it must be something important judging from how you guys are trying to cover it up."

Shocked, Sarah asked "Are you angry?"

"No."

A surprised look come over Sarah's face. "Why not?"

"Well, as over-protective as I am with Chuck, I trust him even more. If he feels that he needs to keep this from me, then I know that he has a really good reason for it. It's for that reason why I haven't investigated into it more. I also saw that you love Chuck from the beginning."

Sarah nodded slightly.

"I also know that there's no way that a woman working at the Wienerlicious or the Orange Orange can afford a porsche convertible."

Sarah dropped her head in defeat. "Yeah, I can't get myself to drive a mustang. All muscle, no finesse."

Ellie joined in the laughter. "I think it's about time you switched jobs. If people keep seeing you in that porsche and you keep telling them that you work in food service, they're gonna start talking. You already know what people are saying right?"

"I'm a high priced hooker?"

"Yup. But I tell them that you quit your job as a lawyer and decided to work in the Wienerlicious to get away from the stress of the courtroom. Weird enough, everyone believes it."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Just do me a favor."

Sarah gave a look to continue.

Ellie's face grew serious. "Take care of yourself and my little brother. I can't bear the thought of losing either one of you."

Sarah's eyes grew wet. "I will. It may seem weird to hear but as good as I am in whatever I do, Chuck is just as capable."

Ellie nodded. "Good. Now are you gonna take out a little device to erase my memories or something?"

Sarah chuckled. "No, no need. I trust you to keep this a secret."

"Don't worry I'll forget this converstation on my own. Once my wedding is done I need to start planning yours!"

Sarah smiled at the thought of her wedding. "Sounds good sis.


	7. Extra chapter 2: Playing with Fire

_A/N: Here's another extra chapter to the story. Once again, no real reason to it; it's not advancing any storyline or anything. Just thought it would be fun. Enjoy._

* * *

Chuck leaned back against his Nerd Herd desk facing away from the entrance. His complete attention was focused upon his iPhone and the pictures of him and Sarah when they had travelled up the pacific coast together. Smiling at a picture of Sarah on the hood of the porsche, he still couldn't believe that she actually agreed to marry him. Chuck found himself constantly waiting to wake up from the best dream ever but every time he did wake up, Sarah was always next to him with a smile. He let himself get lost in his thoughts of Sarah and failed to notice the female figure standing behind him.

"Excuse me" she asked. "I'm having trouble with my cell phone."

Without turning around, Chuck asked "What seems to be the problem?"

"I think it's broken because I haven't received a call from you."

A confused look came on Chuck's face; he heard that line before. He quickly turned around and came face to face with a red haired model. "Carina!" exclaimed Chuck as he nervously threw his cell phone in the air. Luckily the training he received helped with his reflexes and he was able to catch it midair.

"Nice catch Chucky. Sarah said you had really experienced hands" said Carina with a sly smile.

"What are you doing here Carina? You didn't get kicked out of the CIA for indecent exposure did you?" Chuck asked jokingly.

"Ha ha Chuck. You know there is no such thing as indecent exposure in the agency. All types of exposure is recommended and encouraged. You wanna see?" Carina started to pull at the strap of her tank top.

"No! No, that's fine. I'll take your word for it." Chuck tried to calm himself before continuing. "Really, what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a little vacation till my next assignment. Sarah said something about having some good news, so I decided to drop by. Why? Do you want me to leave?"

"Of course not. You're Sarah's best friend; I can't kick you out."

"You said Sarah's best friend. Are you saying that I'm not your friend?"

"I'm not saying that. Of course you're my friend."

Carina pursed her lips. "I don't believe you; maybe I should take matters into my own hands and make sure we're friends."

"Huh? That's a nice offer but totally unnecessary."

Chuck's attention was suddenly diverted elsewhere when his friend's voice came from behind him.

"Carina? Wow, never thought I'd see you again."

"Hey, how's it going Martin?"

"Morgan."

"Sorry, Morgan." Carina started playing with his collar. "Sorry bout before, I didn't mean to leave so abruptly."

Morgan was totally lost in watching Carina play with his shirt. "Huh? Oh, don't worry about it. It's all in the past now."

Chuck turned away from the continuing conversation and saw an angry set of eyes staring in their direction. Suddenly realizing to whom they belong to, he quickly tried to warn his best friend. "You know what Morgan? Maybe you should save this reunion for later. Much later. Like never kind of later."

"What are you talking bout Chuck? You're kind of ruining the mood." said Morgan.

Chuck sighed and realized that sometimes Morgan did deserve the pain he received.

"Hey there Morgan. Who's your friend?" a voice said sweetly.

Morgan's eyes bugged out of his head. "Anna! Hey there sweetie. I was just thinking about you."

"Sure you were; who's the carrot top?"

Carina crossed her arms after hearing the name, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"Oh this? This is Carina. She's....She's..." muttered Morgan.

Chuck didn't want to watch his friend flail for long, so he interjected. "She's Sarah's best friend who's here visiting for a few days. She and Morgan double dated with me and Sarah once a long LONG time ago. She was just saying hello."

Anna walked straight up to the taller Carina. "Hi Carina. Just to let you know, I don't like other women messing with my property" said Anna, clearly referencing her boyfriend Morgan.

Although she had no interest in Morgan, Carina was never the one to back down from a confrontation. "Really? Cause I just love taking what other's have." She gave her a sinister smile.

"I doubt you can take what I have." Anna gave her a smile back. "You can try if you want, but I don't think you'll like the outcome."

Chuck interrupted, hoping to avoid any blood shed. "Well what a lovely chat. Carina? I'll take you to Sarah now. She's at the Orange Orange."

Carina walked with him, never looking away from the Asian woman. "Always the gentleman Chuck."

"Yeah that's me. Peacekeeper Chuck."

"Orange Orange? I thought Sarah worked at the Wienerlicious." Carina laughed. "Loved the name by the way."

"Yeah she got fired from there. Apparently management didn't take kindly to her telling Scooter that she was going to impale him on one of those corn dog sticks and deep fry him. Go figure."

Carina asked "And people actually believe her cover? Seriously, her as a food service worker?"

"I know. I don't get it either. I'm guessing her looks offsets the fact that she couldn't cook."

"I guess so."

"Well there it is."

"You're not coming with?"

"No, I need to save Morgan from certain death thanks to you. Tell Sarah I said hello."

Carina smiled. "I'll see you later Chuck."

* * *

Carina strolled into the Orange Orange and watched as Sarah served the only customer in the place a cup of yogurt. _There has to be some health code violation for wiping off the yogurt machine with your finger and seductively cleaning it off in your mouth. Although I'm betting she gets a lot of repeat male customers._

"Hey there Sarah" said Carina as she watched the young teenage boy hop out of the store.

"Carina? What are you doing here?" Sarah paused for a second with a curious look on her face. "You didn't get kicked out of the CIA did you?"

"Ha ha. No. Is this the kind of reception a best friend receives around here? And all I wanted to do is take a few days vacation with you and Chuck."

"Sorry, you know I'm glad when you come around. As long as it doesn't involve anything with the men in my life."

"Yes, yes, I know. Chuck is off limits. That's too bad; it's so much fun watching him squirm around women. Like when I arrived, he got so flustered after I grabbed his butt when I saw how firm it's gotten. Or when I rubbed his chest to feel his muscles when he said he was working out. Nice pecs by the way."

"What!?"

"I'm joking Sarah. He showed me straight over here. Can someone say paranoid?"

"That isn't the type of thing to joke with me Carina."

"But really, it is. That boy is so into you that I don't think he knows there are other females in the world. Somehow I think you're wasting your energy being worried and jealous all the time."

"Can you blame me? Our training told us that we shouldn't and wouldn't ever find someone to trust completely. Now I have and it scares me to think I might lose him."

"Please Sarah; I think that ring on your finger should let you know that he isn't going anywhere." Carina looked down at Sarah's left hand which she kept hidden the whole time.

"So you saw."

"Yes I saw your lame attempt to hide such a huge rock. Why did you try to hide it anyways?"

"I thought you might get all mad that I was getting soft."

"Nope, I think you actually have gotten better with Chuck around and not because he's turned into James Bond, but even before that. Seems he brings out the best in you. Go figure. So what are you're plans tonight?"

Sarah smiled at the compliment from Carina. "I have something to go to this afternoon with Chuck; you could always come along. We're heading to a Chinese festival and fair."

"Sounds mildly interesting."

"Good. Just hang around for a bit and we'll head out together."

"By the way Sarah, congratulations on the engagement. From the moment Chuck rejected me after the whole diamond incident, I knew he wasn't going to stop till he had you."

"Yeah who knew he had that much patience?"

* * *

Chuck and Sarah, with Carina in tow, strolled around the booths and shops set about the festival.

Carina sped up her walk, catching up to Sarah, and asked "So what are we doing here? There is a point to this right?"

Sarah answered "I forgot to tell you. One of my friends is doing a demonstration here today and we're here to support her. She also said she might need some volunteers."

"Goodie. You guys sure know how to have a good time" said Carina sarcastically.

"Just wait. Chuck let me in on your earlier meeting. You'll have fun; I know I will."

They continued to walk to the center of the festival where bleachers were set up around a padded stage.

"A martial arts demonstration? Now that sounds interesting" Carina beamed. "Something down my alley."

They watched as several martial artists came out and demonstrated their chosen style. After the last one finished, the announcer came out and introduced the main draw for the day. "Next we have Anna Wu with her demonstration of kung fu."

Carina looked around and took notice of the increase in cheers and applause. "Hey Chuck, am I missing something?"

"Oh, the applause? Well Anna is daughter of someone politically important from Taiwan."

"Taiwan? Isn't this a Chinese festival?"

"Yeah, I know. But Anna's father had always been working on keeping good relations between the two groups in the U.S. despite what else is happening outside of it. That's the reason for all the applause; his family had done a good job of keeping the peace and everyone here knows it. So every year when this festival comes around, both the Chinese and Taiwanese come out and celebrate. The highlight of the whole things is the martial arts exhibition ending with Anna's demonstration."

"Cool. I look forward to seeing this Anna."

Just as Chuck was going to tell Carina that she already met her, Morgan barged in-between and said hello.

"Hey there Carina. I didn't think I'd see you here."

Carina continued with the overt flirting before and said "Hey there Morgan. I'm glad I got to see you again. Sorry if I messed things up with your girlfriend."

"Don't worry about it. Anna really understands and totally trusts me."

Chuck's eyes bulged out at his friend's comment about Anna. He knew that Anna wasn't really understanding of what happened earlier and didn't totally trust him.

Just as Carina was playing around with Morgan's hair, Anna came out to the center of the stage and glared over at what was happening. Grabbing the microphone from the announcer, Anna said "This year I'll be changing things up a bit and show a real world application of the arts. I'll be needing a sparring partner. How bout you there with the red hair?"

Carina turned towards the stage and was surprised to see Morgan's girlfriend from earlier. "Hey it's you from the store. Don't you look cute in your little outfit?"

Chuck knew that prodding Anna wasn't a good idea and was about to warn her when Sarah shushed him. "What are you doing Sarah?"

"Nothing." A small smile formed on her face.

Anna's anger grew at the taller woman's comment. "How bout you join me up here for a little sparring match? From what I can see, you could use a bit more exercise. Or a lot more."

Carina's eyes narrowed to slits at the comment and answered "Fine. But don't blame me if your boyfriend leaves you after watching me knock you around a bit."

"Doubtful"

Carina walked up to the stage and faced Anna. She felt kind of sorry for the Asian woman; her training was quite extensive and battle proven. _She won't know what hit her. _

Chuck and Sarah watched as Anna and Carina squared off and started the sparring match. Luckily they both were wearing padding to prevent the more serious injuries. Chuck and Sarah's eyes darted back and forth as they followed the fighters across the stage, exchanging punches and then just as quickly their eyes moved down towards their feet as they watched a female form slide to a stop on her back.

"What the hell?" shouted Carina.

Chuck offered a hand and answered the bewildered woman. "Uh, there's something that Sarah forgot to mention and you failed to realize; Anna doesn't look it but she's an expert at shaolin kung fu and has mastered many of the animal styles. I've seen her fight before and I have to admit that most agents might be hard pressed to beat her. Why do you think she's the main attraction at a martial arts demonstration?"

Carina stared down the blonde woman at Chuck's side. "Nothing to say Sarah?"

Sarah smiled and said three words. "Payback for Pakistan."

"What? That was so long ago!" Carina gave a sly smile. "I know what this is for; this is for the times I flirted with Chuck. How petty of you Sarah. Don't think I'm going to stop flirting now." She flexed her muscles and stretched out a bit. "Hmmph. Well I hope she's as good as you say Chuck cause now I'm going all out."

Chuck and Sarah watched again as the two women fought and once again their eyes moved down towards their feet as another female form came to a sliding stop on her back.

"The hell?"

Chuck smiled. "Hey there Anna."

"Shut up Chuckles."

"Ok." Chuck watched her storm off to the center of the stage. "Stay safe."

Chuck turned to Sarah and asked "Are you enjoying this?"

"Of course not Chuck. Why would I enjoy watching my two friends fight?" said Sarah who was trying to hold back a smile.

"I don't know. Let's see. Probably because one of them constantly flirts with me and the other one asked you if you were packing on a few pounds last week."

Sarah stared silently at the fighters.

"Uh huh. I have my answer."

The fight was still going on when Chuck saw his friend Morgan slowly raise his camera phone to record the action.

Morgan then saw his friend Chuck slowly put his hand out on top of said phone and slowly push it down away from the action.

Without turning to face Morgan, Chuck asked "Do you really want to risk it after seeing what they can do?"

Morgan's face blanched and slowly shook his head in the negative.

"Good. Hopefully they'll be so tired that they'll forget about you."

"Do you think they will?"

Chuck paused and said "No."

Morgan whimpered.

Now almost 10 minutes into it both Anna and Carina were still at it with no possible victor in sight. Sarah looked around and saw that the crowd was totally mesmerized by the graceful movements of the combatants but decided that it was probably enough. _Besides_, she thought, _it'll be fun to watch Morgan squirm_. Sarah walked over to the stage and slowly approached the fighters. "Maybe you guys should stop now and apologize to each other."

Anna kept on fighting and shouted "Why should I? This hussie was trying to steal Morgan!"

Carina answered in a similar fashion. "Hussie? I was not! Why should I apologize to her? Little grasshopper over here is the one who wanted to fight me."

Sarah exhaled and let her shoulders slump. She walked up to the two ladies and placed her hands on their shoulders. Giving a pinch, both women yelled in pain and quickly fell flat onto the mat. "Ok, are you guys going to apologize or should I increase the pressure?" Both women yelled and flailed their arms and legs as she did so.

"Ok ok Sarah. I apologize Anna for coming onto your boyfriend. Ow ow!"

"Ouch! I will Sarah. I apologize Carina for using my fists instead of my words."

Sarah smiled. "See? That wasn't so hard was it?" Neither of the women answered which caused Sarah to pinch even harder. "Was it?"

"No! No." The sprawled out women said in unison.

"Good. Let's go. I'm hungry."

Sarah walked past Chuck and Morgan who were still as statues. Morgan spoke out first. "Dude, she scares me. She's the hottest thing ever, but she scares me."

"I know." Chuck rubbed his left shoulder. "Believe me, I know."

Chuck quickly turned around as he heard Sarah's voice shouting. "Chuck? Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, dear."

* * *

_A/N: Please review!_


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